I had an engineer tell me once that the reason for a fast break in
was that the pistons rise ever so little higher at high speed and
that there was a high speed and a low speed wear pattern. The low
speed break in pattern would later inhibit high speed. I still think
it is an urban legend. I always followed the rules and then drove
like hell.
But we are showing our age. Things have changed I think. Engines are
built to such high standards of precision now that break in is hardly
an issue. There is no longer a 500 mile break in period. There is no
longer special break in oil with chemicals designed to eat away at
the hot friction spots in the engine, which is the reason it had to
be gotten out at 500 miles. The only broken in behavior I have
noticed in the last 20 years is a very slight decrease in fuel
consumption at about the 30K mile point.
Winsor
Long Beach, California, USA
On Jan 20, 2006, at 9:39 PM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
> Yeah - that's the advice my mechanic gave me for my reco engine - to
> run it in don't thrash it or baby it, just get some long trips under
> the belt with plenty of changes and warm it up well before driving,
> no revving it cold. And change the oil at 500 miles/800km. Makes
> sense. Oils have got a lot better since the days when 'running in'
> meant going really slow and people had signs in the back windscreen
> saying - "Running In - Please Pass' (I can remember that!)
> AndrewF
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